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Traditional Concepts in Posing
Socratic Adventures Photography

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SOME TIPS ON POSING

There are some concepts you should know that can make you look better in pictures, regardless of
whether it's a professional photographer who poses you or it's your uncle whose instruction is limited to
"stand over there and smile". For the most part, these tips about how to pose yourself are optical illusions,
usually caused by the fact that the camera is monocular (one-eyed) as opposed to binocular (two-eyed).

The tips are easy and might be likened to the world's most painless diet. If someone were to say that you
would look ten pounds thinner simply by standing a certain way, I'm sure you would jump at the chance.
By knowing these secrets, and even spending some time in front of a mirror practicing thembefore the big
day, you can help look your best on your wedding day.

Getting the Point
By pointing your toe, you shift your weight to your
back foot, which in turn causes your hips to shift.

This hip-shift makes you look more appropriately
curvy. You want to end up with one of your hips
and one side of your buttock slightly more
pronounced than the other. As with everything, a
little goes a long way, so just shift your hips a little.

Stand Up Straight
Standing straight can do wonders for your image.
Although the groom can also benefit from good
posture, it is especially important, and perhaps
more difficult, for you. This is because chances are
that you have never worn a headpiece and veil for
a whole day before. Don't worry about your
headpiece falling off; if it does, there will be plenty
of willing hands to help fix it.

Avoid placing your feet together while
standing flat on the ground (left).
A pointed toe lends more shape to your hips.
Avoid slouching (left).
Youll look more confident when you
stand with a good posture.

Relax Your Shoulders
People have a tendency to tighten and raise
their shoulders when they get nervous. This
causes a few problems. It makes your
shoulders appear narrower than they really
are, your neck seems shorter, and most
importantly, it creates a feeling and look of
tenseness. This is quite subtle, and to resist it
you have to concentrate on relaxing your
shoulders. Let them fall naturally.

Position Your Shoulders to 45
Because of the camera's monocular view, it is
hard to judge depth in a photograph. If you
turn your body slightly to the right or left, you
can appear thinner.

For example, if you are standing with your
shoulders parallel to the camera you might be
24 inches wide when measured from shoulder
to shoulder.But, if you turn your body to a 45
angle, the measurement from shoulder-to-
shoulder, in the photo, might be reduced to
only 18 inches.

With your shoulders square to the camera
your body might only be eight inches deep
from breastbone to spine. With your
shoulders at a 45 angle, the depth of your
body, which is now measured shoulder to
shoulder, is probably 12 to 15 inches.

In fact, generally speaking, your entire body
should never be square with the camera; is
should always be at some angle, usually 45
or more.
Hunching your shoulders
makes your neck look shorter (left).

When you relax your shoulders you will
look more natural and less tense.
Turning to a 45 angle will help you look thinner.
Get Your Elbows Away
In a photograph, if you stand with your
elbows touching the sides of your body,
your body will look as wide as the elbow-to-
elbow dimension.

On the other hand, if you move your elbows
slightly away from your sides, creating a
small separation between your body and
your arm, people will notice the cut-in of
your waistline in your photographs.

With your arms out, separate from your
body, your torso appears slimmer.

In the course of moving your elbows
outward, make sure that you dont also lift
your shoulders.

This trick requires care in its use. You want
to see a slight separation between your
body and elbows. If you move your arms
too far away it will look like you're doing the
chicken dance!


Banish Those Double Chins
In an effort to hide a double chin, many people will
tilt their head slightly backward. In actuality, this has
an adverse effect. It makes your chin more
conspicuous, shows off the insides of your nostrils,
and makes your eyes, the most expressive facial
feature, look smaller.

Lifting the chin is the right idea because it stretches
the folds under your chin more tightly, helping to
eliminate this unwanted feature. However, the
foundation for this illusion starts much lower in the
body, it starts at your waist.

To reduce the look of a potential double chin, lean
forward slightly at the waist and then tilt your head
slightly backward. This keeps your face in its normal
position, and the tilt at the waist cancels the
backward tilt of your head.


Lower Your Chin
Now that we've taken care of any double chins,
it's time to accentuate the facial feature that
expresses the most about youyour eyes.

If you lower your chin by a small fraction of an
inch, you will be tilting your face downward and
your eyes will therefore be closer to the camera
than your chin and mouth. This will make your
eyes appear larger.

Just a tiny dose of this little trick is all you need,
so use it sparingly.

You will need to practice these two techniques
together in front of a mirror. They may feel
unnatural, but like all professional posing, the
results should be beneficial.
While standing up straight,
dont pull your head toward your neck (left).

Rather, lean forward at the waist
while slightly tilting your head backward.
It is usually less flattering
to lift your head back because your chin
becomes more prominent. (left).

Instead, lower your chin to tilt your
forehead ever so slightly closer to the camera.
This emphasizes your eyes


About Eyeglasses
I've seen brides with a tired eye who don't wear
their glasses and then are unhappy with their
photos because their eye is wandering in every
picture. Other brides go to the trouble and expense
of getting contacts, but don't spend enough time
getting used to them before the wedding. Their eyes
then get bloodshot, or they find the flash annoying.

These brides often end up with a stack of proofs in
which they blink a lot of the time.


If You Wear Glasses
1. Photo-gray lenses are just no good. They
darken when outdoors, and even when you
are inside, they appear dark in photos.

2. There are non-glare lenses that you can
put in your existing frames for relatively
little cost. While not 100% effective, they
help reduce reflections.

3. Have your frames professionally adjusted
before the wedding. Make sure the lenses
do not tilt upward because this will amplify
the reflection from the camera's flash.

4. If possible, the lenses should tilt slightly
downward so the flash will be reflected
harmlessly towards the ground. This trick
can also be accomplished by lowering your
chin slightly.
Notice how glare hides the eyes (top).

When wearing glasses, a simple
and slight nod downward will help cut glare.

Relax Your Forehead
Many times, in an effort to accentuate their
eyes, brides will try to open them as widely as
possible. You've probably heard some family
photographer say, "Don't squint." Yet all too
often in the process of not squinting people
raise their eyebrows.

This only creates unwanted wrinkles on their
forehead. While it is important to avoid
squinting, you want to avoid raised brows or a
furrowed forehead.

It helps greatly to practice your facial poses in
front of a mirror. This is true of all of the posing
mentioned; take the time to practice until you
are familiar with the movements.



Important Words to the Wise
All the suggestions and little tips and tricks
about posing should be used sparingly. Your
application of these ideas should be measured
in fractions of an inch.

As a test case, stand in front of a mirror and
look at yourself. Now lower your chin 1/4 of an
inch (such a tiny distance). Then, try it again, but
this time lower your chin a full inch. In the first
case you'll hardly notice the difference in the
mirror, but in photos, your eyes will look larger.
In the second instance the photo may result in
double chins.

No one trick is going to magically transform
you into a super-model. However, by using all
of them, each one improving your presented
image a little bit, the end result should add up
to a noticeable change in your photographs.
Dont open your eyes too widely,
this can create unwanted forehead wrinkles (left).

It is better to keep your eyes and forehead
relaxed in order to look more natural.

Bouquets
There are three basic types of bouquets; arm,
cascade, and snowball.

The arm bouquet is made from long-stem flowers
and doesnt have a handle in the traditional sense. It
most often looks best running along one of your
forearms with the blossoms nestled into the crock of
your arm. Place your free hand on your waist or
wrap your fingers (with your hand palm-down) around
the lower part of the stems.

Hints for the ArmBouquet
1. Never cup your second hand under the
end of the stems. It appears very
uncomfortable and your hand will look like
a closed fist.

2. You should flip the bouquet to either arm
depending upon how you are standing so
that the blossoms and not the stem-ends
are more prominent.

3. Never hold an arm bouquet vertically.

Snowball and cascade bouquets are similar, but the
snowball is round while the cascade is elongated
with the flowers flowing out and down. Both have
a handle.

As with the arm bouquet, you should never cup
your free hand under the base of the handle.
Instead, keep your wrists near your hips, with the
rear hand holding the handle and the other palm-up,
supporting the blossoms.

Finally, when holding either a snowball or cascade
bouquet, you should not be able to see the flowery
top of it when you look down. Tilting the bouquet
slightly forward, you should be able to see a bit of
your hands and the handle next to your belly. This
way it will be set appropriately for the camera.

A Final Word on Flowers
All too often the flower sizes chosen do not fit the
bride that they were made for. An overly large
bouquet for a petite bride, or a very small
bouquet for a full-figured bride, can create an
imbalanced look.

Also, whichever bouquet you happen to choose,
the question, How should I hold my bouquet?
can be answered with just two words, Lower it.

If you are unsure how low to hold your flowers,
just remember to point your palms inward and let
your wrists rest on your hipbones.





















* These pages were adapted fromSteve Sints book The Brides Guide
to Wedding Photography, Lark Books, 2004, pp. 20-25, 32-33,35.

Regardless of whether we are retained as your official photographers,
please contact Socratic Adventures Photographyif you would like to
borrow this, or any other book or resource concerning wedding
preparations or photography. Wed love to help make this special day
an amazing one to remember.
Dont hide yourself or your dress
behind the flowers (top).

Hold your bouquet low,
with your wrists on your hipbones.